Dental Hygienists in Alabama
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$48,687
after federal, FICA and Alabama tax
Tax takes
$12,473
20.4% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$54,115
Alabama costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Alabama — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$61,160
Kept after tax
$48,687
Worth in national money
$54,115
State rank
50
of 50 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Alabama is among the lower-paying states for dental hygienists. The middle earner takes $61,160, ranking 50 of 50 states — about 37.66% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Ordinary, locally speaking. Dental hygienists ranks 183 among 482 occupations Alabama publishes pay for.
- Alabama is cheaper than average, and that shows up here. From $61,160 the take-home is $48,687; adjusted for what things actually cost, it goes as far as $54,115 would nationally. The average lands at $60,850, below the middle of the range.
- Alabama ranks 50 of 50 for dental hygienists, with a median of $61,160 — about 37.66% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Position 183 of 482 in Alabama places dental hygienists in the middle of the state's wage distribution. Because within-state and cross-state rankings measure different things, this figure and the national one above should be read together rather than as a single verdict.
- Post-tax income for dental hygienists in Alabama, on $61,160, is $48,687 — equivalent to $54,115 once regional price parity is applied. ⚠️ The adjustment uses a statewide index that describes no particular address; within-state price variation, concentrated in housing, routinely exceeds the difference between two states. At $60,850 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Dental Hygienists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $48,960 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $61,160 |
| Top tenth earn over | $72,410 |
| This salary | $61,160 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Alabama | $48,687 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $51,322 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$1,301 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $57,881 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$1,573 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 90 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $61,160 as a midpoint for Alabama, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $48,960 and the ninetieth is $72,410 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Alabama the take-home figure of $48,687, from $61,160, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 183 of 482 occupations here.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $54,115 uses one figure for the whole of Alabama. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 482 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 183.
- The Alabama median of $61,160 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $48,960 to $72,410. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Alabama is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $48,687 from $61,160. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 183 of 482 locally.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $54,115, worked from $61,160, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular Alabama address, on work sitting at 183 of 482 locally.
Questions people ask
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $48,960 and the top tenth $72,410, so most people doing this work in Alabama sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
More than the figure suggests. Prices in Alabama sit below the national level, so take-home here stretches like $54,115 would elsewhere. The wage is the same; the ground it covers is larger.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; Alabama then takes its own share, leaving $48,687.
Why is this job missing from some states?
Because the survey suppresses a figure when too few employers report it. This occupation has published pay in 50 states — the rest are withheld to protect confidentiality, which is not the same as nobody doing the work there.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($48,960 to $72,410) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Alabama rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Alabama's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $54,115 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $48,687 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Alabama income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Why does this occupation lack published estimates in every state?
BLS suppresses estimates failing disclosure or reliability criteria. This occupation has published state-level estimates in 50 of the fifty-one jurisdictions. Suppression reflects sample size and confidentiality rules, and cannot be read as an absence of employment.